Read my post again. I am making concessions for Yu na's program being new, and guessing that it will get better. However, Yu na getting a higher score (>201) than Mao's (< 197) is not right. The polish and delivery do count. Yu na was overmarked.

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It was the B-competition which is generous to every skater! I said Yuna was overmarked on PCS (2-3 points?), so is it that important? Yuna didn't have a controversial winning as Mao did at NHK. Yuna didn't get ridiculous inflated score as Mao did at NHK, either. They were both overmarked IMO. I think comparing scores in different events is hard and useless. I don't want Yuna vs Mao debate in this thread anymore, so let's just stop it. We can do this as much as we want at Worlds

The GPF scoring was very generous. Not only Mao but Ashley. I don't think Mao delivered great performance. She was very good at the step sequences but other than that ... . And, her jumps were too weak. She was a clear winner though. But, I think it is reasonable YuNa's performance got higher score than Mao's.

...She did not have many transitions in this program. I believe it's a work in progress, so it will get better, but at this time this skate was not better than Mao's...

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???

I wonder if we were watching the same program. If we were, I guess the figure skating that I know is a totally different thing from that in your book. Her LP is PACKED with choreographic moves and transitions. Heck, even her choreo sequence  a tiny part among the current TES constituents  is full of significant choreo and transitions, while most other skaters are showing just a token amount of effort for that element.

Its fair to say that her Les Mis routine looks VERY demanding, and even a speedy one at that. I actually think that likely we might never get to see a clean skate out of it in competitions, because its so packed and demanding.

&#8220;With the requirements fulfilled [for entry to the world championships], I think she won&#8217;t compete in other international events before March,&#8221; an official of the All That Sports, Kim&#8217;s agency, told the Korea JoongAng Daily.

&#8220;She will focus on the Korean Figure Skating Championships and the World Figure Skating Championships.&#8221;

ITA. I think Jackie Wong provides a very fair and balanced assessment. I enjoy his reporting on figure skating. Even Yu Na herself admitted that she focused mainly on getting through the elements in her sp, and that she will try to improve her presentation later. Therefore, her PCS should not be very high, but PCS aren't always marked on what a skater actually presents on the ice -- they are boosted along with good technique and clean execution, as well as according to the overall rep of the skater, IMO.

It's also true that GPF scoring was fairly high overall. And it is also difficult to compare scoring across events. Still Jackie Wong, all things considered, did a good job of assessing Mao's and Ashley's marks over the course of GP this season vs. Yu Na's marks at her comeback senior B event.

well I must admit I'm really quite impressed with Kim's comeback, I think she will be tough to beat in comparison to the top skates at the grand prix final.. I actually enjoyed the choreography from the long program and her dress.. It did seem a tad robotic however its her first time out with it - some mileage she can become more artistic just in time for worlds.. so glad I will get to see her live again

As for Jackie's article his analysis is very rough, especially on FS. He said 129.34 is reasonable 'cause she use to get from130 to 140 at her best. hahaha As every skater has good time and bad time, he should talk about her performance AT NRW TROPHY at least. Reading his article is a waste of time.

&#8220;Ever since I was a child I thought that the Vancouver Olympics would be the end of my skating career. After I had a good performance at the Games, I lost motivation. I just didn&#8217;t want to do it,&#8221; said Kim as she described the sense of loss she felt after the Olympic Games.
As Kim confessed the emotional turmoil that she went though, one could see that she had truly been tormented during the time she spent contemplating over her future though the look on her face. Her eyes became misty as she relived the memories.

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&#8220;As I started to practice with the young Korean skaters, I began to think that it wasn&#8217;t necessary to train oversees like I did before.
I knew training would be difficult. I knew very well. But as I practiced with the young skaters, I started to think that I could do it again. Also I&#8217;ve been skating since I was a kid so in a way I felt that I just had to skate,&#8221; admitted Kim.

Living and training in a &#8216;familiar yet new&#8217; environment in her native Korea, gave her the strength to start again.

&#8220;When I was in Canada and in the U.S., I was there to train. I felt like I was staying in the place for training.
That was the most predominant feeling that I felt while living abroad. I missed training with my friends and staying with my family in my &#8216;real&#8217; home. Now that I am home, I feel much more light hearted. Training and life in general has become much more comfortable and easier,&#8221; said Kim as she smiled.

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When asked about her new coaches, Kim answered that she feels at home with them.
&#8220;There are no communication barriers and since I they are my childhood teachers, I feel really comfortable with them.
Unless there is a big sudden change, I think it would be safe to say that I want to continue to train with my current coaches,&#8221; said Kim who seemed quite happy.

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That bolded part reminds me of Michelle's advise that she gave to Yuna in 2010, during ATS LA press conference, I think. She said that she was always reminded the joy of skating watching young skaters, little skaters every day on the rink, and that was what got her to continue her skating career. Look how things worked out for Yuna; Michelle is truly a great mentor for Yuna

I for one am so happy that she's feeling light-hearted towards competing now that she's home with friends and family. Perhaps that was exactly what she needed. Good luck to her!

I wonder if we were watching the same program. If we were, I guess the figure skating that I know is a totally different thing from that in your book. Her LP is PACKED with choreographic moves and transitions. Heck, even her choreo sequence &#8211; a tiny part among the current TES constituents &#8211; is full of significant choreo and transitions, while most other skaters are showing just a token amount of effort for that element.

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Like what? I did see the spread-eagle into 1st axel and Ina Bauer into 2nd axel. Other than that, nothing particularly difficult stood out to me. There were an awful lot of stroking and turning in one direction.

&#8216;Figure Queen&#8217; Kim Yuna successfully finished her first competition and expressed her goal of earning at least two entries at the Sochi Olympics.
&#8220;I worried a lot that I might make unexpected mistakes at the competition because I hadn&#8217;t competed in a while. Of course I made mistakes but I performed my programs better than I expected. So I&#8217;m rather relived,&#8221; said Kim at the press conference held at the Inchon International Airport.
&#8220;I will train hard to earn at least two entries to the Olympics. I am concerned more about earning more than two spots so I can go to the Olympics with a fellow Korean skater, rather than aiming for gold,&#8221; answered Kim.
&#8220;I think that the NRW Trophy was a good start. Now I will concentrate on elements that need improvement and do my best to maintain good health for the following competitions,&#8221; said Kim.
Kim won gold at the NRW Trophy that was held at the Eissportzenturm in Dortmund, Germany. She scored a total of 201.61 points; 129.34 for her free skate and 72.27 in the short. Her score is the highest score of the season in ladies singles.

The following is Kim&#8217;s question and answer session.

Q: How do you feel right now?
Kim: I feel good that I was able to achieve my goal of earning the required minimum technical points (for Worlds) and that I got through the competition without encountering any major problems. I am aware that a lot of people rooted for me and supported me. I don&#8217;t know if I lived up to their expectations but I am happy and thankful that my hard training lead to good results.

Q: What do you need to work on for the World Championships?
Kim: Figure skating rules change each year. I was worried the most about the changes in spin rules. It has become more difficult to get high level spins. In order to keep up with the rule changes, new spins that I had not done before were incorporated in my new programs. As a result, my spins are a bit rusty and I was rather unsure of myself at the competition. I think this affected me and my spins weren&#8217;t perfect at the competition.

There weren&#8217;t any big problems with the jumps but after I checked the protocol after the competition, I found that I had gotten a level 1 on a spin. Of course the goal was to get a level 4 so when I saw that it was a level 1 and not even level 3, it caught my attention. There can be many different reasons in such cases. One, the elements of the spin does not meet the required levels, or two, there were problems in the actual execution. These little details may seem minor but they add up and play a big factor in the final score. So I need to focus on not missing the details in each and every element. Since the NRW Trophy was my first competition I can work on problems based on the feedback I received. In a way, it helped me find out what elements I need to work on.

Q: Wasn&#8217;t it physically difficult because of your long hiatus?
Kim: I took a break from competition for 20 months and even though I skated in shows it&#8217;s not the same thing as competing. It had been a long time since I skated at an actual competition and because the level of training had become much light during my hiatus, I was worried the most about my stamina. As I mentioned a few times before, the focus of my training was brining my stamina up to competition level. This made training physically draining and difficult. But because I was much more light-hearted compared to prior to the Vancouver Olympics, training was much enjoyable and I was able to laugh through it even though it was exhausting.

I was nervous at the competition, much more than I anticipated, because I had been away from competitive ice. The nerves made me tenser and I found myself out of breath at the actual competition. However, thanks to the hard training, I was able to perform without any huge mistakes.

Q: You will be skating at the Korean Nationals in January. This will be the first time you will be skating your new programs in front of your Korean fans. How do you feel?
Kim: I think that the NRW Trophy was a good start. Now I will concentrate on elements that need improvement and do my best to maintain good health for the following competitions.

I think being healthy is the most important. Don&#8217;t get sick and go to competitions healthy. It&#8217;s been a long time since I competed in Korea and I goal is, as always, to do my best.

Q: How would you compare your performance at the NRW Trophy with your run-throughs during training?
Kim: Well, because the short program is physically less straining than the long, I had a high rate of clean run-throughs in the short.
I think that all the hard training helped me skate well even though I was really nervous. The free program started off well but I made a few mistakes in the second half. It was not because I was physically drained but rather a loss of concentration. After my first mistake (singling the double axel) I stumbled on jumps that I usually regarded as easy (singling the planned double toe loop- double loop). The jump I fell on was because I lost concentration, not steam.

Q: What will be your focus point in your training up until Worlds in March?
Kim: I think I will be concentrating on the details. I also need to work on perfecting my spins and check the elements so that I can get level 4 on my spins. I will check the elements that need improvement based on the feedback I received in NRW. Enhancing the consistency of technical elements and improving the choreography and flow of the programs have always been goals that I held throughout a skating season. Also, even though my current endurance is enough to skate though my programs, enhancing my stamina will enable me to perform my programs with more ease so I will focus on this as well.

Q: Do you feel that you made the right choice in coming back to competition?
Kim: I think the feeling was closer to &#8220;whew&#8221;; relief. I was worried that I might make unexpected mistakes at the competition because no matter how hard you train, things happen. The fact that I had not competed for a while didn&#8217;t help matters at all. As I was preparing for this season, I was worried that once I stood on the ice, the psychological burden would return. However, I found out that I was able to skate with a lighter heart compared to the past. I am at more ease, psychologically. The fear I felt at competitions has dropped dramatically so I think this will help me get though the tough training that is waiting for me more easily.

Q: How would you compare the current season&#8217;s ladies with the ladies of the past season?
Kim: I noticed that lot of the skaters that I once competed against are now absent from the ice. There are a lot of new faces. It wasn&#8217;t intentional, during my time away from competitive ice I grew less interested in the competitions because I wasn&#8217;t competing myself. Now that I have returned, I have to compete in such competitions and I guess I will be seeing the new skaters. However, I plan to focus on my own performance rather than fixating on other skater&#8217;s performances, like I have always done. I find myself less distracted by other skater&#8217;s themselves or their results compared to the past. I think that if each skater concentrates on their own performances, good results will follow.

Q: What are your goals for the World Championships?
Kim: This season&#8217;s Worlds will determine the amount of allotted spots for each country at the Olympics. At the Vancouver Olympics I participated with fellow skater, Kwak Min-Jeong. I want to skate well at Worlds so that I can earn at least two spots at the Olympics. I would like to give young Korean skaters the opportunity to experience the Games. I will do my best, but I will skate with a far lighter heart because I am concerned more about earning spots for Korea, rather than aiming for gold.

(The International Skating Federation(ISU) determines allotted places at the Olympics depending on the results of the World Championships held the previous year. If a skater places within 24th place, the country wins one spot. If the skater places within 10th place, two spots. If the skater places within the top two, three spots are given.)

Like what? I did see the spread-eagle into 1st axel and Ina Bauer into 2nd axel. Other than that, nothing particularly difficult stood out to me. There were an awful lot of stroking and turning in one direction.

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Exactly. I saw a lot of crossovers into jumps, with nothing in between. The Ina bauer+2A was nice, but that stood out more as an exception. Again, I expect her to add more transitions as she refines the program, but this particular program in this competition was rather weak, transition wise. It still was impressive, considering how long she has not competed. It seems she has not lost any of her jumps.

First of all I must say I was a very lucky person who managed to get tickets for this competition, because about 300 tickets were sold out in a few hours and the most of them got guests from Korea.

The Olympic champion Yuna Kim announced this event as a return to competitive skating. Her last competition was 2011 Worlds. 18 months after that we could see her on competitive ice again. Korean and Japanese broadcasters have bought the TV rights. Also, there was a live Internet stream.

Honestly, Im not a fan of comebacks for several reasons and was a little bit sceptical. Yuna Kim has achieved everything in sport. In the short program she seemed to have a little tense. She delivered a solid program, which featured a combination of triple Lutz  triple toe loop, triple flip and double Axel. Her spins and steps got only the level 3.

In the free skate we saw again the real Yuna Queen with beautiful lines, big jumps, exquisite choreography and magic blades. I like the way she feels the music. Her skating looks so effortless, she is just beautiful to watch. She is like a magnet for the audience. Yes, Yuna made several mistakes in the free skate on jumps but this is only an indication that she is not ready for 100% right now. However, she has enough time to prepare for 2013 Worlds.

As for the 201.61 points Yuna Kim received in Dortmund, we know that so-called B events are considered as friendly for skaters.

Thank you puretea. I think skating with the goal of winning two places for S Korea will place so much less pressure on Yuna. By making clear her goals, she's also playing down the expectations of her fans. She has a mission and I think this mission is easier to accomplish than the one in 2010. She's talented and determined. I am sure she will achieve what she sets out to do for her country.